Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, has been in Delhi since Monday and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief is expected to meet with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“Banerjee is scheduled to meet Modi today [Tuesday] at 4pm. She is also scheduled to meet some senior Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma. On Wednesday, she is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi,” said a senior TMC leader.
The TMC leader also stated that this would be the first formal meeting between Modi and Banerjee since the TMC’s third consecutive victory in West Bengal.
When Modi held a review meeting in the aftermath of Cyclone Yaas, the two leaders met for only 15 minutes. Banerjee has just handed over a report on the cyclone’s damage. The relationship between the Centre and the states deteriorated after the Centre recalled Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the state’s chief secretary, for missing the PM’s review meeting.
“Banerjee could raise a range of issues, starting from hike in fuel prices, shortage in supply of vaccines and the Central funds that are due,” said a TMC leader.
The meeting between Modi and Banerjee on Tuesday comes as the Parliament is roiled by the Pegasus surveillanceware scandal, with sessions being repeatedly adjourned. West Bengal, the first state to do so, ordered an investigation into the Pegasus case on Monday.
“West Bengal is suffering from multiple issues, including post-poll violence, fake vaccines and imposters. She has gone to Delhi to take a break and relax. I heard that she is also going to meet the PM. May be she wants the PM’s help as she is not being able to run the government. They also need to make a pact with the Congress for 2024,” Dilip Ghosh, Bharatiya Janata Party president in West Bengal, told media persons.
Banerjee is expected to visit Parliament and meet several political leaders during her stay in the national capital, which coincides with the monsoon session. Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, and Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister, could be on the list.
“I will also try to meet the President. Several political leaders have requested that they want to meet me. I will try to adjust and accommodate as far as possible in two to three days,” Banerjee had earlier said.
This meeting with political party leaders is all the more important because Banerjee wants the TMC to play a major role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Leaders of regional parties gathered at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on July 21 to listen to Banerjee’s speech as the TMC commemorated Martyr’s Day, the party’s flagship event.
